A Few Gods, A couple of Mutants and a Crow
by Cyrus-Oz
Summary: Legendary substance the Eye of Anobi, stolen from a family by a friend of the Professor's, the X-men face off with a maniac while Loki tried to Help a crow settle with her killers. R&R please
1. Default Chapter

Prologue  
  
He sat in the leather swivel chair pushing himself to go in fast circles. Then he jumped up and collided with the wall.  
"Loki!" the tall girl laughed. She had black hair cut short so it stuck out, her skin was a natural tan, and her eyes were a screaming blue. She smiled a lot, revealing more then her pearly white smile, but very shape fangs as well.  
"Anubis," Loki said to the wall, he squinted then turned and looked at the laughing woman. "I tell you, you ought to try this!" he took a step, lost his balance and fell again.  
"You are going to get hurt my friend!" she said. "And Shiva would have my head if you got hurt."  
He stood up holding his head. "Shiva," he muttered. "What is it with her?"  
"She fancies you is all." Anubis looked around the office. "Come on, we've got work."  
"Why'd we come here again?" Loki asked crawling to the floor and lying down.  
"You got yourself sick didn't you?" Anubis chuckled. "That's alright, you got us in, I'll work from here." She pulled the shades shut and began to open all the filing cabinets.  
She proceeded to the shelves of books and scanned the titles looking for something out of place. Nothing. She moved on to the desk and opened the drawers. As she made to close the last drawer she froze and looked in it further.  
"Here it is." She pulled a small wooden, black box from the back corner of the drawer and put it in her shoulder bag. "Ready Loki?" she closed the drawer and looked over the desk at Loki who had fallen asleep.  
She walked around the desk and kicked him in the side. "All right you," she pulled him into a sitting position. He opened his eyes and looked up at her.  
"Why did you kick me?"  
"You fell asleep."  
"Oh." He nodded. "Are we done yet?"  
Anubis rolled her eyes and headed for the door."  
"I'll take that for a yes." He morphed into a man with white hair and a tweed suit and lead Anubis out of the building. As they left the night guard smiled.  
"Good night Mr. Hammons."  
"Good night." Loki replied.  
As they got outside into the sleeping downtown area, Loki morphed back to his real form and smiled at Anubis.  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she smirked. "You rock."  
"Of course." Loki howled into the nighttime air and they ran off.  
  
*** *** *** *** ***  
  
Professor Xavier sighed.  
"What's wrong Professor?" Kurt asked.  
"I'm just still a little sad about Koda."  
"We are too." Jak said.  
They sat congregated in the living room.  
"So," Scott stood up. "What are we here for?"  
"Right," Professor Xavier nodded. "A friend of mine from Albuquerque called in a favor, there has been a lot of robbery in his offices. The thieves have taken files, computer programs and most importantly a black box. Now, he asked me not to say what are the contents of the box as they are very dear to him, so I will not. But the files are also very important to him, he knows that the thieves cannot be normal humans, the night security guard has kept an eye on all the camera screens and the only people seen to go into the building is my friend, Mr. Hammons and a lady friend, but Mr. Hammons insists that he has been asleep when the imposter has been entering the building. He suspects that it is a mutant and that is why he has asked us to go and investigate it."  
"Sir, all due respect, we are not the police."  
"I understand that, but Mr. Hammons insist that we help him."  
"Why?"  
"Scott," The professor sighed. "Because he did me a favor a long time ago and he is calling in the favor I owe him. You don't have to go if you don't want to, I just need four of you to go, check it out and do what you can."  
"I'll go," Jak said.  
"Me too." Kurt volunteered.  
"Yeah," Satine sighed.  
"And I'll go." Logan said.  
"Okay then," Professor Xavier smiled. "You leave in the morning, Mr. Hammons will meet you in downtown Albuquerque at eleven o'clock." 


	2. One Crow with Sorrow

DISCLAIMER: Sadly I own none of the X-Men characters and the Syndrome I mention about Osiris Shalaft's Syndrome I got from Star Trek Nemesis. And this is NOT a cross over with the CROW but I was inspired and I have added the crow and his powers. So I didn't know how to categorize it, I did it this way. Read and Review.  
  
One Crow-Sorrow  
  
Loki burst into the loft apartment dancing and singing.  
"Calm down boy!" Anubis laughed closing the door.  
Shiva, a small pre-teen red head, came running into the living room and tackled Loki in a hug. "LOKI!" she shrieked. "You're home!"  
Loki squirmed. "Yeah kid, I'm home, air! Air!"  
She let him go. "Sorry,"  
"The girl doesn't know her own strength."  
"Hello Osiris." Anubis smiled up at the man.  
"Anubis, did you get it?"  
"When have I ever failed you?" she pulled the box out of her bag and tossed it to him.  
Osiris came down the stairs and into the light. He looked old, his thick black hair held streaks of gray. His eyes were hazel and wore out; his skin was tan and wrinkled. He smiled and kissed her on the forehead.  
"For a while there I was wondering how long I'd be stuck with babysitting." He laughed.  
"Hey O," Loki said backing slowly away from Shiva. "What is that anyway?"  
"The key to my youth." He smiled. "This my friend is the Eye of Anobi."  
Loki jumped on the table and leapt onto his pull-up bar hanging from the ceiling. "Hey," he said as his chin came over the steel bar. "I've heard of that, the Eye of Anobi, I thought it was said to have been destroyed with the fall of the Roman Empire."  
"It was said to," Osiris nodded. "Then a few years ago I heard a rumor of its existence so I started a frantic search for it and sure enough, it had survived the fall of the Empire and had surfaced in later years in France with a man called Du Lac. His family held it in secret, then not to long ago the Du Lac bloodline died out and it was auctioned off to a Mary Edmond. Mr. Hammons had heard of its powers for greatness, had files upon files of its powers, its heritage, that is what I had you get. He went after Mary; he killed her, her husband and her teenage daughter who had the orb- given to her as a present. He was never caught for the murder, he only took the orb, and so it was written off as a random murder."  
Anubis nodded. "That Hammons dude, he's creepy."  
"Really?" Loki worked on his thirtieth pull up. "How is he creepy exactly?"  
"For one, he is running three lives, four wives and a whore house." Anubis flopped back on the sofa. "Aside that, he's a powerful mutant who has never really appreciated his powers and has never bothered to use them."  
"What is his mutation?"  
"Extreme strength, he could lift a 747 airplane if he wanted too." Anubis said. "He's one crazy M.F."  
Osiris nodded. "He regrets never developing his strength, and now that he knows how to operate the Eye of Anobi, he planned on using it to become young again."  
"Is that why you want it O?" Loki asked.  
"What?" Osiris asked.  
"To become young again, is that why you want it?"  
"For one reason yes, every person wishes for youth."  
"For one reason?" Loki rested his chin on the bar. "What is the other reason?"  
"I was born with a defect, Narcolepsy and Shalaft's Syndrome- a deficiency that made the slightest whisper to loud to stand. The eye of Anobi can heal me of all of this."  
"How did you make it this far with your Shalaft's Syndrome?" Loki asked.  
"I stuff cotton balls in my ears." He pulled his hair away from his ears and showed them.  
Loki jumped down and got a closer look. "Nifty." He said and returned to his bar. "So how does the Eye of Anobi work exactly?"  
"With the right incantation it can be made into an elixir to heal all maladies, with a different set of incantations it can be made into another elixir to grant youth."  
Loki grunted and dropped down again. "Hey, when are you going to do it?"  
Osiris picked up a manila folder. "I am going to heal myself right now." He smiled and went upstairs.  
Anubis looked around. "Hey, where are Hades and Venus?"  
Shiva starred at Loki, ignoring Anubis all together. Anubis glared at her then got p and walked over to Loki wrapping her arms around him and lifting her knees against his leg.  
"Play along," she whispered to Loki as she set her head on his shoulder. "Dear," she said louder.  
"Yes lover?"  
Shiva glared evilly at Anubis.  
"Do you know where Hades and Venus are?"  
He slipped a hand around her lean waist and rubbed her thigh with his other hand. "I have no idea, but that leaves the back room open so you and me." he smiled and made it look like he was kissing her neck. She giggled and looked up innocently.  
Shiva jumped up. "They're at the store."  
"Okay." Anubis said and walked off.  
Loki shrugged and turned to the mini library looking for a book.  
Shiva looked over at Anubis then at Loki. "You mean you two aren't?"  
Loki turned to her then looked over at Anubis who just smiled. Loki smiled and turned away.  
  
*** *** *** *** *** ***  
  
"Excuse me," Kurt smiled at the stranger. "Have you seen his man anywhere?"  
"I have a name." The person said not looking at the photo. "It's Fyre."  
Kurt nodded. "Well hello Fyre, I am Kurt Wagner."  
Fyre looked up and took off her shades revealing silver eyes. "Hello Kurt Wagner." She smiled. "Now what did you ask?"  
"If you have seen this man." He raised a black and white surveillance photo of Loki.  
Fyre nodded. "Loki, he's apart of the Gods."  
"The Gods?" Logan asked stepping up behind Kurt.  
"Logan this is Fyre, Fyre, this is Logan." Kurt smiled being polite.  
Fyre smiled and nodded. "Yes, it is like a small gang but they are not territory freaks. They live in a loft a few blocks from here, the Gods consist of Osiris, the leader, Shiva, Anubis, Hades, Venus and Loki." She looked up at Kurt. "Why do you ask?"  
"We are looking for him." Logan said cutting in.  
"I wasn't asking you Logan." Fyre said. "If you are looking to hurt him, you have another thing coming. If you hurt him, Shiva will mame you, she might only be thirteen but she really likes Loki and if he was hurt she'd kill them." Fyre laughed. "It totally isn't funny, but thing is, Loki doesn't even like her." she shrugged. "If you really need him, I suppose I could call him up for you."  
Jak and Satine walked up.  
"Fyre?" Jak asked.  
Fyre put her shades back on. "Jak," she smiled. "I wondered when I'd be seeing you again."  
"Fyre," Satine said looking away.  
"Satine," Fyre nodded. "Still looking slutty."  
"Let me at her!" Satine lunged for her but Fyre jumped out of her seat and took safety step back. "You whore! I'll get you for what you've done!"  
Jak shook his head. "Still on about that?"  
Fyre shrugged. "Jak, are you with these two?"  
"Yes I am."  
"Okay." She pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number. "Hi Hades, this is Fyre, I'm fine, no I haven't heard anything about the race." She leaned back on a lamppost. "No I didn't Jon entered. He crashed? At the end? Oh, tripped at the line huh?"  
"Fyre." Jak said.  
"Oh! Right, look, the reason I called Hades, Jak and Satine are back with a couple of. odd looking people. Yeah really huh? Oh," she coughed. "Uh, is Loki there? Yeah can you put him on? Hey Loki, it's Fyre. I'm okay, did you hear about Jon?"  
"Fyre!" Jak shouted.  
"Right," she nodded. "Anyhoo, Jak and Satine are here-" she looked at her phone. "No he didn't."  
"What?"  
"The wretch hung up on me."  
"You deserve it." Satine sneered.  
Fyre looked over at her and snapped her fingers, instantly Satine's coat caught fire. She screamed and pulled it off checking herself for singe marks.  
"YOU BIT-"  
Fyre backed up in the shadows and vanished.  
"Ah, yes, she does that." Jak said rubbing his temples. "Look, Satine, why don't you and Logan go back to the jet for tonight? Kurt and I will get Loki."  
"Why do we even need Loki?" Logan asked.  
"Because he lives here now and he might know something." Jak said. "Just leave you two."  
As soon as they left Fyre came back into the light.  
"She's still pissed?"  
Jak turned and looked at her. "Oh I don't know Fyre, you put maggots in those birthday chocolates, three eels in her bubble bath and set fire to her entire wardrobe and killed her three cats."  
"I told you, they were diseased."  
"I know they were, but she's not going to believe you." Jak sighed. "Look, we need to talk to Loki, can you arrange that?"  
"Better yet, he's here." She smiled and looked back at the shadows were Loki loomed.  
He stepped forward. He wore baggy black shorts, sneakers and a black tang top. "What do you want?"  
"We need to ask if you know anything about a robbery of the man known as Mr. Hammons?"  
Loki shrugged. "Only what I have heard by word of mouth." He said. "Why?"  
"Oh," Jak sighed again. "He is a friend of the Professor's and he was robbed and we were sent to investigate."  
Loki nodded. "Is he still mad about Koda?"  
"Depressed, but he understands, now that there is an antidote and has heard everything, from you and from those scientists."  
Loki rubbed his neck. "Yeah."  
A dark figure broke into the pool of light. It stopped and looked at them for a moment.  
"Hello," the voice was soft, yet urgent.  
"Hello," they replied.  
"I'm Santan, I was wondering if any of you knew where a Mr. Hammons lived?"  
Loki studied the new figure. It had long black hair that was tied back with different lengths of bangs that fell in front of a smooth, angular face. This person wore wrap around shades and a trench coat that brushed the top of mean looking buckle up boots.  
"Why is this man so popular tonight?" Fyre asked.  
"Excuse me?" Santan asked.  
"Everyone is looking for him, working for him, stealing from him." Fyre shrugged. "Why do you want to see him?"  
Santan shook her head. "Do you know or not?"  
Fyre arched an eyebrow. "He lives in the northeast heights on Tuesdays." She said. "He's there tonight."  
"Where exactly?"  
"Go up Academy to Lowell, turn right, head down Lowell to San Victorio turn right again and he lives at 11701, it is white house with a red tile roof, you can't miss it."  
Santan nodded. "Thank you." she turned and left. A large crow cawed loudly and flew overhead in the direction Santan was walking.  
"She looks so familiar." Loki said. "Now why does she look." he trailed off. "That's Santan Edmond!" he realized and ran back to his loft.  
Kurt, Jak and Fyre followed him and stopped at the front door.  
"Who is she?" Jak asked.  
"Santan," Loki stepped back out into the hall with a blue folder. He opened it and took out a sheet of paper. "She was killed a year ago." 


	3. Two Crows are Joy

Two Crow-Joy  
  
Santan stood outside the house for a long moment watching as lights went off and on in the different rooms. She could hear kids laughing upstairs in rooms where the doors were locked from the outside, and a woman moaning in pleasure in the downstairs living room.  
"Can I help you find something?" a voice asked from beside Santan.  
Santan turned to the voice and saw a figure standing against a stucco mail pillar of the neighboring house.  
"Who are you?" Santan hissed.  
"A friend."  
"I don't want a friend."  
"I didn't say I was your friend." The person retaliated quickly.  
Santan turned back to the house and took a step toward it.  
"You'll regret it you know." The person said.  
"What?"  
"If you kill him now, all of your powers are going to leave you, and you'll be stuck here in a quest for redemption."  
"Do not presume to tell me how to go about my business!"  
The person shrugged. "I'm just saying," there was a long pause. "I know what you are, I am the same."  
Santan turned toward the person and took a few steps to get a better look in the faltering moonlight.  
"I killed them all, from the bottom up, when I did so, I discovered that I couldn't go forward, I was stuck here. So I serve as a guide to anymore of our kind that comes through. They need to know the rules, I was told, I was to be the one to tell them until my redemption was found."  
"Who are you?" Santan asked.  
"I am Jude Cody." He stepped into her line of vision. He was tall, lean, with cream color skin and green eye that would put the finest emerald to shame. His hair was cropped short around his shoulders, it was black and had a waviness to it that would make to sway if you starred at it to long. He flashed a smile revealing perfectly white, perfectly straight teeth.  
"Why are you here?"  
"Why are you?" he asked back. "I was killed about three years ago, a misunderstanding to begin with, but then they pushed it, killing my little sister and brother. It was personal from there, when I came back through the portal, I knew what I had to do, but no instructions on how to do it. So," he shrugged. "I did it my own way." He sighed. "Afterwards I was told that I had done it the wrong way, I wasn't suppose to kill, I was suppose to set things right again, torture them, imprint all my pain in their memories, but not to kill. It made me as bad as they were, I stooped to their level because of emotions, and I have been ever since."  
Santan turned away. "It's different this time."  
"Is it?" Jude asked. "You keep telling yourself that Santan," she blinked in surprise that he knew her name. "And when you are in trouble, I'll be around to offer my hand."  
A cawing of another crow caught her attention; she turned to look at two crows sitting on the roof. Then she turned back to talk to Jude some more, but he was gone and so was the second crow.  
  
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***  
  
Fyre was on her motorcycle with Kurt sitting behind her as she sped up Academy at eighty. Se was thinking about Kurt and how him holding her felt a little weird since she only had three fingers instead of five when a police car skidding a turn. She looked in her rearview and noted that she had blown a stoplight. She was at Wyoming and Academy when the squad car decided to join her with blaring lights and deafening sirens. She muttered a curse as Kurt turned to look back at it. He said something but the wind and the sirens held back his words from her ears. She slowed and took a turn at forty, nearly tipping the over. Kurt's grip tightened and he tucked in closer to her back.  
She smiled, liking the feeling of him so close but knew that he would never ride with her again after this ordeal. She wound her way down the street and into an apartment complex. She jumped the curb and went into the complexes field that was in between the buildings. She sped up and squeezed the cycle between two buildings and into an alleyway that lead into a concrete arroyo. She accelerated to ninety. a hundred and ten. she was pushing the limit when she heard the cawing of a crow over head. She let up on the accelerator and started to ease the breaks.  
The crow overhead flew above her and looked down at her often enough to make the hair on her back stand up.  
Fyre skidded to a halt and killed the engine.  
"Why have we stopped?"  
"Shhhht!" Fyre said looked around.  
"Well, well, well, look at what the bird's dragged in. Fyre, are you still speeding around like it is nothing?"  
"It is nothing Jude." She said climbing off the cycle and looked around. "Where are you?"  
"What pray tell brings you to my side of the tracks?"  
"Better food," she smirked.  
Just then Kurt gasped as a tall figure jumped down from a hidden spot into the arroyo and began to walk toward her.  
"Well then, that's fine I suppose, though I must say, the Chinese food down there is the best."  
"Until you eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner for a few months straight."  
Jude laughed. "Seriously, why are you here?"  
"I am looking for someone."  
"Oh?" Jude nodded. "And would this someone just be another crow?"  
"Actually," she nodded. "Yeah, she's out to kill Hammons."  
"Yes, he deserves to die, but you know what will happen if she kills him."  
"I know," Fyre nodded. "But from what I have heard, you couldn't really blame her for killing him."  
There was a roar of an engine, two motorcycles and a car stopped on a bridge above them.  
"Jude,"  
"Loki, Anubis, Hades, Venus, and. ah, who are these people?"  
Loki smiled. "These are the incredible X-Men!"  
Jude snorted and laughed. He covered his mouth and nose with the back of his hand and turned away. After a moment to recompose himself he turned to face them again. "Are you serious? They actually exist?"  
"Got a problem with that bub?" Logan said.  
Jude smiled clapping his hands together behind his back. He walked up to Logan starring him in the eyes. "No, no problem, I was just wondering, why on earth would the famous 'X-Men' be around here? I thought you all stayed close to home around the eastern coast."  
"We have business here." Satine said glaring at him.  
"Ah, yes, Satine, as fair as an ice sculpture, and just as cold." Jude looked over at her. "And Jak, her lover, protector and all around good guy with a sense of humor." Jude looked around more. "I haven't seen anything as weird as you since I left the world of the dead." He said to Kurt. "Who are you?"  
"I am Kurt Wagner." Kurt replied.  
"I am guessing a wider range of mutants?"  
Fyre nodded. "Yeah."  
Jude smiled. "Anubis, still looking alive, is that good or bad?"  
Anubis laughed and turned away to hide her blushing, which she thought was wrong seeing as to how Jude was long since dead.  
"And last but never the least, Loki," his voice took a plunge. "I am sorry about your sister, I heard."  
Loki nodded. "Hey, can you help us or not?"  
Jude shrugged. "Help with what? Santan? I've talked with her not so long ago."  
"Did she already kill?" Fyre asked.  
"No. no, she didn't. I told her what would happen if she did. I also told her if she got into trouble that I would be there to offer my hand."  
Logan had his arms crossed. "What does she have to do with any of this in the first place you guys? We are here to help this Hammons guy."  
Loki gulped and walked behind Jude for protection, as did Anubis.  
"Do something?" Jude asked lightly.  
"Yeah, we stole something from Hammons."  
"Yeah, the Eye of Anobi." he raised his voice. "This guy Hammons that you have to help, do you all know what it is exactly he does?"  
"Does it matter?" Logan asked. "He helped the professor a long time ago, and now he's calling in his favor due to him."  
Jude's mouth created the perfect O. "I see," he nodded. "Well, do you also know that your professor's friend is a murderer?"  
"A murderer for something that wasn't even his in the first place." Santan said jumping into the arroyo and standing next to Jude. "He killed my family, myself included for that damned Eye of Anobi."  
Jude smiled at her. "But you didn't kill him, that's a good thing."  
"How is it good?" she hissed.  
"Torture them with all of you memories of watching your family die, start from the bottom ranks, attack everyone who was there, then you should be able to move on and be with your family again."  
Santan smiled. "Would you help me Jude?"  
Loki sighed. "Wait, wait. what about Hammons?"  
"Oh, I'll get him later-"  
"No," he turned to Anubis. "I mean, what happens now?" he lowered his voice.  
Anubis smiled and shrugged. "We have the Eye of Anobi, Osiris will become young again in less that two days when the moon is full. Until then, let's just hang around these people and see what boils up." She turned to Santan. "I never saw the proper powers of a Crow before." She looked around. "So, we got a group of Gods, a couple of Crows and the X-Men," she laughed. "Well, well, well, if this isn't the craziest shit I've ever come up against."  
"At least it'll be a good show." Loki shrugged.  
Logan arched an eyebrow. "Look, whatever, we need to talk to Hammons."  
"Oh," Fyre spoke up. "You can talk to him tomorrow when he is going to work, until then, we should just crash."  
Jude smiled. "Come on, we'll crash at my place tonight, you want to join us Loki and Anubis?"  
They shrugged. "Why not, we got Osiris what he needed." Loki glared at her but she merely cocked her head in a sassy attitude and walked off behind Jude.  
Logan starred at Loki for a long moment. "Loki, can we talk?"  
Loki evaded. "Maybe later!" he said and ran after Jude as well. 


	4. Three Crows are for a Girl

Three Crow- For a Girl  
  
Santan dreamt of days so long ago when her and her family lived. Lived. So would say in the Land of the Dead. When one realizes that they are dead, they begin to see that life in itself is a god-given gift of breathing and being, and to be on the other side of this life is to realize all you could have done to make your life better. All the times you were mean to your parents, to your friends, all the times you could have done the better choice. but we are humans and mutants, we are not saints, and even when you are dead, wanting so much to have been a saint in life, dooms you to the gloomy compounds of Sheol, a desolate place, like a rainforest made of blue and gray trees where it does nothing but rain, both outside your body and inside.  
Sheol, it is the place were Santan loomed until the fateful day when a Crow flew over head and offered out a chance to go back and set the wrong things right. Three days to fulfill this, three days to set it straight, that, and no more. So Santan took the Crow's offer and flew back into the Land of the Living. set with a mission, but no way of accomplishing them, it was a surprise to her when Jude showed up. She hadn't wanted to believe him, but the second Crow she saw before he disappeared, it had told her that what Jude said was the truth, and the sorrow in which Jude dwelt was a thousand times worse then Sheol.  
Santan opened her eyes, her dream crystal clear in her head. She chuckled softly while she lay there in the hammock in front of the living room window.  
"What's so funny?" Jude asked walking into the living room and drawing the curtains back.  
"I was just dreaming. I didn't think dead people dreamt."  
Jude nodded with a forced smile. "We dream alright, about what we have lost." His smile faltered and he left.  
"Jude!" Santan called after him.  
He stuck his head back into the room from the bedroom. "Yes?"  
"How old where they? Your brother and sister?"  
Jude took a while in answering. "Saige, my sister, she was three, and Johnny, my brother, he was six." He turned away, but Santan caught the glimmer of a tear that moved down his cheek before he disappeared into the bedroom.  
  
*** *** *** *** *** ***  
  
"You're bathroom is disgusting." Satine hissed.  
"I'm sorry I don't have silk clothes to wipe your ass with my queen." Jude smirked. "I'll be sure to lick it next time!"  
Satine spun around quickly and stomped off.  
Jak shook his head. "What is it between you two that just boils your tempers when you two are near each other?"  
Jude smiled. "We use to go out, but then one day, I was suppose to take her to the Citywide Masquerade Midnight Ball, but my little sister also wanted to go. In the end, I chose Saige as my date and told Satine I would take her next year, she didn't like that, she thought I was being. prejudice?" he shrugged. "Anyway, she's never forgiven me about it, though you would think that someone's hate would die when that person they hated died."  
"Well, you'd think," Jak nodded.  
"But that obviously doesn't apply to her."  
"Well, Koda was the closest thing to a sister I ever had, and she's dead."  
Jude nodded. "I am sorry to hear that."  
"Yeah, one always is." Jak smiled and went into the bathroom.  
Hades and Venus woke up on the living room floor. They grabbed a burrito and were out of there faster then beam of light. Jude saw them leave and smiled. "Ghosts," He muttered and walked off.  
Logan walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. "Do you have anything to drink bub?"  
Jude rolled his eyes. "Yeah, behind the cabbage and carrots and ranch dressing there is some of Mike's Hard Cranberry Lemonade and some Vodka." Jude added with a smirk. "Help yourself."  
Logan took a bottle of vodka and downed the glass bottle in half a minute. Loki and Anubis, who were snoozing on the kitchen counters, woke up and pulled out a Mike's for themselves. They did a cheers and downed the stinging liquid and moved to the table where they were tempted to go back to sleep.  
Jude heard the glass bottle thud as it was tossed into the garbage bin. He shook his head and walked over to Kurt who was still sleep in the ceiling rafters. Jude tossed a penny up at Kurt, hitting Kurt on the shoulder, then the neck. Kurt opened his eyes just as Jude was about to toss another penny up at him  
"Morning!" Jude smiled.  
"Good morning." Kurt smiled.  
"There's some breakfast burritos in the microwave, I popped in eighteen in there, everyone can take two." he trailed off as he noticed someone was missing. He looked around the bedroom and living room again. He frowned and walked out onto the balcony and found Fyre fast asleep in a chair with her feet resting on the guardrail.  
Jude kicked the feet from their position; causing Fyre to jumped up and nearly collapse back into the chair again.  
"Oh, morning Jude."  
"Good morning sleepy head."  
"What time is it?"  
"A quarter past seven."  
She nodded and they walked back inside and sat down to eat. "Hammons arrives downtown about half past eight and he walks into some small store outside the Hyatt Hotel for a bagel and a good flirt with the worker there. Her name is Jasmine, she's actually a he, and he's a cross dresser looking to get a full sex change."  
"Okay," Jak put his burrito down. "I did not need to know that."  
Fyre shrugged. "It's true, but Hammons doesn't know that." She smiled. "Jasmine, his real name is Jazz, is a nice guy, he really is." She smiled and ate a little before continuing. "Then Hammons goes into work and calls his secretary to delay all phone calls until ten, that gives him an hour and a half to jack off, either by himself or with some fellow workers, not all of them female." She said a little disgusted. "After that he gets on the internet and researches."  
"Researches what?" Logan asked.  
"Anything, his latest obsession would be my guess."  
"And you know all this how?"  
"Danielle, a worker in his office, set up a hidden camera in his office, she's trying to get him fired, and she found all this out."  
"And who's Danielle?"  
"A friend of mine, we grew up together."  
"Do you know what his latest obsession is?" Jak asked biting into his burrito again.  
"Something called the Eye of Anobi,"  
Loki coughed, nearly choking on his burrito.  
Anubis glared at him, only Logan caught the glare and he glared at Anubis.  
"Are you okay Loki?" Fyre asked.  
"I'm fine," he said in a squeezed voice. "I'm just fine."  
Logan looked over at Fyre. "What is this 'Eye of Anobi'?"  
"It's a legendary stone with powers to rejuvenate the old and to heal any curse or aliment within the body of the person who creates and drinks the elixir."  
"An elixir?" Logan chocked an eyebrow.  
"Yes," Fyre nodded. "The stone can be filed, the fine powder mixed with other herbs and some water creates an elixir."  
"Maybe that's why those people stole it from him." Satine said.  
Anubis looked over at Loki, daring him to cough or choke again.  
"Stole it from him?" Santan asked.  
"Yes," Satine continued. "Someone, I guess, stole that thing from Hammons."  
"We don't know what they stole," Logan said. "All we know is that they stole a box whose contents were precious to Hammons."  
Satine smiled. "His latest obsession? What else could it be Logan?"  
Logan shrugged. "Just saying is all."  
Loki looked over at Santan who sat on his left. He tapped her on the shoulder and signaled him to follow her to the balcony. Anubis followed and Logan closed his eyes in concentration of listening to them.  
"Anubis," Loki said. "We can help Santan out couldn't we?"  
Santan watched them from the chair. "Help me with what?"  
Anubis nodded. "We took the Eye of Anobi from Hammons, our friend, Osiris, he needs the help of the elixir, do you think, if you touched it."  
"Yes!" Santan smiled. "If I help it, I would see all who touched it and I would be able to get my murderers quicker!"  
Anubis looked back at the table full of people then over the railing. "Then let's go." She jumped over the railing, landing on the one beneath her. The other two followed and they jumped that balcony.  
Logan jumped up and ran out to the balcony and looked over. The balconies below created a sort of stepladder to the street's sidewalk. Loki, Anubis and Santan were already on the sidewalk; they turned up and starred at him.  
"He knows." Loki said. "He has great hearing, I bet you anything he heard us Anubis."  
Anubis flicked a finger at Logan and they ran off. Logan spun and ran back into the room. "Where do Loki and Anubis live?"  
"Downtown." Fyre said. "Why?"  
"They are the ones who stole the Eye of Anobi!" Logan said grabbing his jacket and pulling it on. "They have it!"  
Satine and Jak jumped up and followed Logan out the door. Logan popped his head back in. "Aren't you coming kid?" he said to Nightcrawler.  
"No," he said simply. "I'll catch up later, after breakfast."  
Logan wanted to protest, but he felt he had no time for it and he stormed off.  
"You shouldn't have done that Kurt." Jude said.  
"Well, you went to the trouble of preparing all this food, I think it is rather rude to just leave."  
Jude laughed. "The dead do not mind that rudeness, I assure you."  
Kurt shrugged. "All the same, I would feel like I was rude, and I don't like feeling that way."  
Jude nodded and turned to Fyre who was finishing her second burrito. "So what are you going to do today Fyre?"  
"I thought I'd stick around those crazy people and see how all of this turns out."  
Jude nodded. "Yeah, I think I will too."  
"Jude," Fyre smiled. "That night it happened, the night you died,"  
Jude frowned but nodded.  
"It was the night of the masquerade wasn't it?"  
"Yes, what about it?"  
"The masquerade is tonight, it'll be your death day," she hesitated looking over at Kurt who was interested in where this was going.  
"Well," she continued again. "The portal usually opens on death days, you might be able to travel into Limbo, and they might be there on the bridge that separates Sheol from the other place. You could go there and see them couldn't you? Wouldn't that make you happy?"  
Jude wiped at a few stray tears. "Even in my death you still love me enough to look out for my joy."  
"Jude and I," Fyre looked over at Kurt. "We were talking about going out, he wasn't liking the way Satine was being with him, he was going to break things up with her and go out with me."  
"She's been my best friend for a while, helping me with Saige and Johnny, my younger sibs."  
Kurt nodded. "Cool."  
"Yes," Jude said to Fyre. "See them would make me happy. I'll go see them. tonight."  
  
*** *** *** *** *** ***  
  
Loki, Anubis and Santan ran into the apartment room. Osiris and the others were nowhere to be seen. Anubis ran up into the study and grabbed the wooden box that contained their prize and they took off again, knowing enough that the X-Men would be following them. 


	5. Five Crows are Silver

Five Crows are Silver  
  
"Wait!" Santan screamed and skidded to a halt.  
Loki tripped over her and Anubis collapsed onto both of them.  
"Why the sudden stop?" Loki asked rubbing his shin. "Please refrain from stopping that fast again."  
"Why'd we stop?" Anubis asked.  
"We can't run from her!" Santan said.  
"Sure we can!" Loki said jumping to his feet.  
Anubis looked over at him.  
"Fine," he sighed. "Alright, I understand that she's the one who killed you. but. look, all due respect Santan, she killed everyone around your house didn't she?"  
"Yes-"  
"And that was three years ago was it not?"  
"Yes-"  
"Then what in God's name is going to stop her from killing us?!"  
Santan nodded.  
"I say we regroup, talk to the X-Men about this, get our gang in order and high tail it to kick her ass into Sheol, or better yet, the Land of the Damned!"  
Anubis smiled. "Now that's the man I love."  
"Excuse me?"  
Santan shrugged and they ran off again.  
"Wait!" Loki shouted running after them. "What was that about love?" he was out of breathe but strived to keep up with Anubis. "Anubis! ANUBIS! Repeat that!"  
Kurt laughed and teleported back to the X-Men.  
  
*** *** *** *** *** *** ***  
  
"He had no right to talk to you like that!"  
"Calm down Peter, you're right, he had no right talking to me like that, but those things he said, they were true. I looked up this Fyre girl using the updated Cerebro databank, she is a very powerful mutant, and how I missed this before, I am not sure, but she's ruthless, like Hitler and Magneto all rolled into one." Professor sighed. "But what astonishes me is this, how did he know about Fyre helping Logan and them on this mission? How did he know about the Eye of Anobi? How did Asmodeus know all he knew?"  
Peter shrugged. "I don't know." He looked over his shoulder at Rogue who was arguing with Bobby currently about Asmodeus.  
"Why did you touch him as if he was your boyfriend?" Bobby asked, his jealously getting his better half.  
"Bobby," Rogue pleaded, "He was angry," she said as if that explained everything.  
"So? I'm angry!"  
Rogue looked down. "I'm sorry Bobby."  
Bobby looked away in a fluster then calmed down. "It's alright," he said in a softer tone. "I just thought I was going to lose my girlfriend to a guy who made the Professor feel bad about himself."  
Rogue nodded, she had liked Asmodeus, but when he had called her a whore, her feelings for him disappeared.  
  
*** *** *** *** *** ***  
  
"We're still a shade before full," Osiris said looking up at the moon. "Tomorrow night I will be young again. The elixir is nearly done, all I need to do is add the ash of a willow branch and the powder from the Eye of Anobi and I will be healed."  
Loki looked over at Anubis.  
"What will you do with your new found youth?" Anubis asked.  
"I'll remake my life, I'll be better, and I'll keep the Eye of Anobi so I'll always be young."  
Hades shook his head. "You didn't say that before!"  
Osiris looked over at the tall young man. "Oh? Really?"  
"You've lived your life Osiris, you just wanted to heal, not to remark your life and always be young."  
Osiris shot a killer look at Hades. "Plans stray Hades, as a god, you should know that."  
Hades looked past Osiris to Venus who was sneaking up behind to make a grab for the box.  
Osiris twirled around and shocked them all when he created an energy ball out of nothing and shot it at Venus. She created a shield up around herself, but the energy ball penetrated it and shredded her right side of her ribcage up.  
She shrieked in pain as Hades attacked Osiris from behind, sweeping his left hand up from the side of his body. As he did so, the energy around him crackled into life and sparked light blue creating a scythe attached to a chain. He threw the scythe at the old man, the energy blade cut right through Osiris's hand.  
Venus lunged for the box and with help from Anubis and Loki; they fled, leaving Shiva standing faithfully by Osiris.  
  
*** *** *** *** *** *** ***  
  
Professor Xavier sat in Cerebro the rest of the night looking for Logan and the rest of those on the mission. He found Loki with some other interesting mutants, but he could not find Logan and the others. where were they?  
  
*** *** *** *** *** *** ***  
  
"Come out, come out, wherever you are." Fyre smirked as she walked down the alleyways. "I know you're here Loki, I can smell you."  
Loki sniffed his armpits. "Am I that bad?" he whispered hoarsely, producing a weak but meaningful chuckle from Venus.  
Anubis smirked at him and shook her head. "Well you do kind of smell."  
"Come on," Hades smiled. "What do we do?"  
"Come on out, I just want to talk." Fyre said.  
Hades squeezed his eyes shut. "What do we do guys?"  
Venus shrugged. "Hell, I say we run."  
"But to where?" Hades asked. "Osiris turns out to be cor-"  
"Fyre!" a voice boomed. "Where the shit is Loki and them?"  
"I don't know." Fyre said smugly. "Why ask Osiris? Did your gods leave you? I told you, you should be a Christian, their God is better."  
Osiris backhanded her and walked off.  
Fyre murmured some curses and went on her way in the opposite direction.  
"-rupt." Hades finished, letting out a breath he was holding. "Shit, what do we do?"  
"Like it or not, we need the X-Men."  
Just then Kurt appeared with the distinct bamf of space suddenly being filled.  
"Kurt," Loki sighed. "Just what we need!"  
"You have to come with me," Kurt said sounding terrified. "She locked them up in the warehouse, Logan is being stabbed over and over and over. Satine is watching a scythe pendulum swipe closer and Jak is being pulled apart by. oh, only Gad knows what that machine is!"  
Loki shook his head. "Where's Santan?"  
Anubis shrugged. "I thought she was with us when we went back to see Osiris."  
"No," Hades said, "Only you two showed up."  
"Venus," Loki looked over at the girl, her eyes were closed, her chest was still.  
"Venus?" Hades said shaking her shoulder. "Venus!"  
Anubis felt for a pulse, but solemnly shook her head. "I'm sorry."  
Hades swore and looked over at Kurt. "Take us to these X-Men, this just got personal." 


End file.
